Jaretr1
03-15-2016, 08:47 AM
Hello,
I have been waiting for the chance to try this combo on my 1997 Camaro SS. Time was just not in my favor until the last few weeks.
For the background, I bought this car about 5 or 6 years ago from the original owner. It had 14k miles on it when I bought it, but had always been garage kept as there was no indication of any wear from the sun. However, the paint was another story. It was swirled to hell. I went about polishing it, but my knowledge and products then is not what it is now.
The problem with this car, is pretty obvious. Its white. Unfortunately, white just does not have the visual POP of other colors, in addition to not hiding defects at all. Its a double whammy. I happen to think this generation Camaro looks great in white, but I wanted the paint to look amazing.
Over the years since I polished it, some light scratches have crept up into the paint. Also, given how hard the paint on this car is, I decided I wanted to compound it again to help minimize a lot of the rids that are in the paint. My compound of choice was Wolfgang Uber compound, and it did a fine job of getting the paint as good as it was going to be for a compounding step.
My next step was Carpro Essence. CarPro Essence Xtreme Gloss Enhancer 250 ml (http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-essence-xtreme.html)
I REALLY liked Essence. It has gotten rave reviews and they are well deserved. Here is what I came away with from Essence. First off, unlike many CarPro products, it is really easy to use. I followed Cory's technique of doing one VERY slow pass per section. This heats up the product and paint and allows the magic to happen. This technique, Essence basically disappears. There is almost no residue to wipe off. Whats left wipes off effortlessly. It has some cutting ability as many have attested to as well as some semi permanent fillers while leaving behind that protection. Like many Carpro products, I noticed the gloss seemed to intensify after a day of curing. It really left the paint very glossy!
The idea of Essence is it can be topped with one of Carpro's ceramic coatings without the need for any wipedown. With that said, my car sat for a week or so before I got to applying the coating so I went ahead and did a quick Eraser wipedown prior to applying Uber.
Next up, Wolfgang Uber Coating. First off, thanks to Nick and Autogeek I was one of the lucky winners of these new Wolfgang products. This is when I finally got to using it.
Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-uber-ceramic-coating.html)
This is the third coating I have been able to try. The other two were Pinnacle Black Label, and the new Mckee's 37 Paint Coating. Of the three, I found this one the most tricky to use. Much of that had to do with the syringe application. To be honest, I was not sure if I was using to much product, or not enough. Based on some feedback, I think I used to little and subsequently applied a second evenly light coat. The other coatings come in spray bottles which seem to make it easier to mist the paint and then spread. At least this is my opinion. Once applied, it seems to have plenty of working time. I had no issues with high spots that I could see. White is so hard to work on in this respect. I really wont be able to comment of durability as this car sits under a carport and under a car cover.
My goal was to try to really get the paint of this car as glossy as is possible while also perhaps making it a little more resistant to the light scratches that work their way on the paint over time (perhaps from the car cover).
As far as gloss, I think i achieved that goal. This car looks as good as I can possibly make it. The pictures simply do not do justice. I could not really capture the shine in the photos. Perhaps it had to do with the diminishing daylight. But take a look:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3297.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3298.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3299.jpg
So not a good picture, dad gummit.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3300.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3301.jpg
This one shows a little sense of the reflection and gloss.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3303.jpg
Wheels were coated with Mckee's 37 Wheel coating. Very easy coating to use. Tires coated with Mckee's 37 Tire coating although I need to redo them as the tires were not clean enough.
Did I have any issue using a non carpro coating on top of Essence? I dont think so. What will the durability be? Ill never truly test it. Did it look great? YES! Essence is a winner. Uber seems to be a winner. Together they are winners!
Jaret
I have been waiting for the chance to try this combo on my 1997 Camaro SS. Time was just not in my favor until the last few weeks.
For the background, I bought this car about 5 or 6 years ago from the original owner. It had 14k miles on it when I bought it, but had always been garage kept as there was no indication of any wear from the sun. However, the paint was another story. It was swirled to hell. I went about polishing it, but my knowledge and products then is not what it is now.
The problem with this car, is pretty obvious. Its white. Unfortunately, white just does not have the visual POP of other colors, in addition to not hiding defects at all. Its a double whammy. I happen to think this generation Camaro looks great in white, but I wanted the paint to look amazing.
Over the years since I polished it, some light scratches have crept up into the paint. Also, given how hard the paint on this car is, I decided I wanted to compound it again to help minimize a lot of the rids that are in the paint. My compound of choice was Wolfgang Uber compound, and it did a fine job of getting the paint as good as it was going to be for a compounding step.
My next step was Carpro Essence. CarPro Essence Xtreme Gloss Enhancer 250 ml (http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-essence-xtreme.html)
I REALLY liked Essence. It has gotten rave reviews and they are well deserved. Here is what I came away with from Essence. First off, unlike many CarPro products, it is really easy to use. I followed Cory's technique of doing one VERY slow pass per section. This heats up the product and paint and allows the magic to happen. This technique, Essence basically disappears. There is almost no residue to wipe off. Whats left wipes off effortlessly. It has some cutting ability as many have attested to as well as some semi permanent fillers while leaving behind that protection. Like many Carpro products, I noticed the gloss seemed to intensify after a day of curing. It really left the paint very glossy!
The idea of Essence is it can be topped with one of Carpro's ceramic coatings without the need for any wipedown. With that said, my car sat for a week or so before I got to applying the coating so I went ahead and did a quick Eraser wipedown prior to applying Uber.
Next up, Wolfgang Uber Coating. First off, thanks to Nick and Autogeek I was one of the lucky winners of these new Wolfgang products. This is when I finally got to using it.
Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-uber-ceramic-coating.html)
This is the third coating I have been able to try. The other two were Pinnacle Black Label, and the new Mckee's 37 Paint Coating. Of the three, I found this one the most tricky to use. Much of that had to do with the syringe application. To be honest, I was not sure if I was using to much product, or not enough. Based on some feedback, I think I used to little and subsequently applied a second evenly light coat. The other coatings come in spray bottles which seem to make it easier to mist the paint and then spread. At least this is my opinion. Once applied, it seems to have plenty of working time. I had no issues with high spots that I could see. White is so hard to work on in this respect. I really wont be able to comment of durability as this car sits under a carport and under a car cover.
My goal was to try to really get the paint of this car as glossy as is possible while also perhaps making it a little more resistant to the light scratches that work their way on the paint over time (perhaps from the car cover).
As far as gloss, I think i achieved that goal. This car looks as good as I can possibly make it. The pictures simply do not do justice. I could not really capture the shine in the photos. Perhaps it had to do with the diminishing daylight. But take a look:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3297.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3298.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3299.jpg
So not a good picture, dad gummit.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3300.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3301.jpg
This one shows a little sense of the reflection and gloss.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMAG3303.jpg
Wheels were coated with Mckee's 37 Wheel coating. Very easy coating to use. Tires coated with Mckee's 37 Tire coating although I need to redo them as the tires were not clean enough.
Did I have any issue using a non carpro coating on top of Essence? I dont think so. What will the durability be? Ill never truly test it. Did it look great? YES! Essence is a winner. Uber seems to be a winner. Together they are winners!
Jaret